The Roman Household: A Sourcebook

The "domus" (household) was the basic unit of Roman society. This sourcebook illustrates the activities associated with the household and Roman perceptions of its role and position within the wider social and economic fabric. Emphasis is placed on the frequently conflicting roles and moral values expected from male and female, old and young, free and slave members of the Roman household and from freedmen and "amici" (friends). Prominence is also given to legal texts discussing issues which demonstrate Roman concepts of family and household, such as the power of the head of a household, rules of inheritance and relations between patron and freedman. These newly translated excerpts are taken from a wide range of Latin (and in a few cases Greek) prose and verse literature, ethical and agricultural handbooks and codes, legal texts, inscriptions and other epigraphical material from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD.